The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the interim stay it had earlier imposed on mining activities in the Aravallis, Bar and Bench reported.

The court said that it will seek the opinion of experts on whether mining can be permitted in the region and, if so, to what extent, Live Law reported. It added that the status quo must be maintained until preliminary issues are addressed after the constitution of an expert committee.

The bench also asked the Union government to suggest names of environmental experts who could be included in a committee to re-examine the definition of the Aravalli Hills, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was hearing a suo moto case initiated over concerns that a recent change in the definition of the Aravalli Hills could open the door to unregulated mining and environmental damage.

The700-km Aravalli mountain range stretches diagonally from southwest Gujarat, through Rajasthan, to Delhi and Haryana. Its highest point is Guru Shikhar in Mount Abu, which rises to an elevation of 1,722 metres.

Under the Union government’snew Aravalli Hills definition that had been accepted by the court in November, an Aravalli hill is any landform that rises at least 100 metres above the surrounding terrain. An Aravalli range is formed by two or...

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